New Rules For Buy-To Let Landlords - August 2016!

The 2016 Finance Bill sees the introduction of important tax changes for property investors that were originally announced in the 2015 Budget.

From 6 April 2016 onwards, there are important tax changes affecting the replacement of furnishings for buy to let landlords. 6 April 2017 will see the start of mortgage interest being restricted to basic rate only.

Wear and tear allowance abolished

Until 5 April 2016 landlords who were letting residential property on a fully furnished basis were able to claim a 10% "wear and tear” allowance towards the cost of the depreciation of furnishings. This simple allowance was an alternative to claiming a deduction for the actual cost of replacing furnishings which was a concession that applied up until April 2013.

So for example, where the gross annual rent was £9,000 there would have been an allowable deduction of £900.

This change seems to be inconsistent with the government's stated desire to simplify the tax system.

The new relief for replacement of furnishings in property businesses

Up until April 2013 it used to be the case that where furnishings were replaced in a property rental business there was deduction for the cost of the replacement items in arriving at rental profits.

This was never a statutory deduction and was accepted by HM Revenue and Customs on a concessionary basis. That concession was controversially withdrawn at relatively short notice in 2013 so for a three year period, unless landlords were eligible for the "wear And tear" allowance there was no relief for furnishings.

As the result of extensive lobbying by the accounting profession, and the residential landlords association, the relief has been restored on a statutory basis from 6 April 2016 by the latest Finance Bill.

The new relief provides a deduction for the actual cost of replacing furniture, furnishings, appliances and kitchenware for the use of the tenant in the let property.

Note that there is no allowable deduction for the initial fitting out of the rental property, just the cost of replacement Items. Furthermore the allowable tax deduction applies on a like for like basis so if there is any significant Improvement then the tax relief will be restricted. So, for example, where a washing machine is replaced with a washer/dryer costing £600, tax relief would only be available for the cost of the equivalent washing machine costing say £400.

No renewals relief for other businesses

Although the renewals basis has been reintroduced for rental businesses from April 2016, it has been withdrawn for other trading business. This relief was previously referred to as the "loose tools" deduction.

Consequently there is no longer relief for the replacement or alteration tooling. In future HMRC would expect such expenditure to be dealt with through the capital allowances rules, most likely by making a short life asset claim.

No change for Furnished Holiday Lettings

The above changes to the renewals basis do not apply where the property rental business falls within the definition of a qualifying furnished holiday lettings (FHL) business.

Such businesses continue to qualify for capital allowances when plant and machinery used In the course of that business is acquired and would benefit from the100% write off under the Annual Investment Allowance rules.

There are strict conditions for the property business to qualify as FHL, the most important condition being that the property is let for at least 105 days (15 weeks) in the tax year, and comprises a series of short term lets.

Note that under the capital allowances rules, relief is not just available for replacing assets but also for the initial furnishing of the holiday property.

Interest relief restriction starts 6 April 2017

As previously announced the current deduction available for mortgage interest and other finance costs starts to be phased out from 6 April 2017.  In 2017/18 only 75% of finance costs will be deductible in arriving at rental profits, the remaining 25% will only qualify for basic rate tax relief.

In 2020/21 there will be no deduction against rental profits for finance costs, just a basic rate tax reduction. This will not only affect higher rate taxpayers but will also have the effect of pushing some landlords into higher rates of tax.

Currently where a buy to let landlord has £10,000 a year net rental profits after deducting £30,000 mortgage interest, in  2020/21 his rental profits would increase to £40,000.

If his other income is £25,000 a year, the rents would currently be taxed at basic rate 20%. Assuming his other income stays the same, his taxable income would increase to £65,000 with a significant portion being taxed at the 40% higher rate. The £30,000 mortgage interest would only qualify for a £6,000 (20%) set off against the 2020/21 tax liability.

Note again that the restrictions do not apply to any part of the amount borrowed for the commercial letting of furnished holiday accommodation. Furthermore, the restriction does not apply to loans for property development trades, or loans secured on a let dwelling house which are applied for the purposes of a trade.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us: 
APJ Accountancy | ☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com

Brexit – What are the Tax Implications?

One of the main reasons that individuals voted "leave" was to restore fiscal sovereignty to the UK so that we are able to set our own laws, in particular tax law, without interference from Brussels.

Significant tax changes currently require “State Aid” approval and we have seen many recent tax changes forced on us by the EU such as the extension of Furnished Holiday Letting treatment to EU properties and the extension of EIS and EMI to companies with a PE in the UK instead of trading wholly or mainly in the UK.

New Chancellor, a new tax strategy?

George Osborne, a leading member of the “remain” campaign, pledged to cut corporation tax to encourage investment in the UK in response to the referendum result. In an interview with the Financial Times, the former chancellor said he would reduce the rate to below 15%, although he did not mention any timescale and may not remain chancellor post Brexit. It will be interesting to find out whether the new chancellor Phillip Hammond will adopt a similar approach to corporation tax

VAT is the one tax that is likely to see the most significant changes as a result of leaving the EU. However, it is well known that it will take 2 years following the UK’s notification of Article 50 before we leave the EU. So until then, businesses will trade as normal, with business to business trade (“B2B”) in the EU being largely VAT and Duty free.

Possible VAT changes

VAT is a European tax.  Withdrawal from the EU means that UK VAT law will no longer be governed by the EU VAT Directive.

In Budget 2016 it was announced that VAT would raise £138bn revenue for the UK Treasury in 2016/17, second only to income tax and about £100bn more than corporation tax.  Therefore, it is expected that VAT or something equivalent will remain in place as an important revenue raiser for the UK, but the UK will in future have more freedom to set VAT rates.  On the plus side, more zero-rating may emerge, whereas on the downside VAT may be raised above 20%, to cope with a possible recession and to generate additional revenue.

The biggest VAT impact will be the change to Intra-EU trade.  At the moment B2B transactions are zero rated for VAT purposes. In future such sales will be imports into the EU and subject to EU VAT, which has a number of potential consequences. On the plus side, there will be no more Intrastat or European Sales Lists (ESLs) for UK business to complete.

However, businesses and their advisers will need to consider the following points:

• Will a local EU VAT registration be required?
• There will be increased freight agent costs of arranging imports and exports. There will be a requirement to “enter and clear goods”;
• Whilst UK businesses should still be able to recover VAT on overseas expenses, the system is paper based and is a more onerous and lengthy procedure.

Possible Customs Duty changes

This potentially has a major impact and very much depends on the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement (“FTA”) with the EU.

Without an FTA, the normal WTO tariffs apply.

For example, for a UK car manufacturer selling cars to its’ French subsidiary would result in a 10% duty tariff, being imposed on the transaction.  Therefore, an FTA is critical to businesses with EU supply chains.

Contact us to know it better and what changes your business should make!
APJ Accountancy | ☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com

How to Reduce Business Costs to Increase Profits?

Competition in business is more intense than ever before, with tough economic conditions in most sectors and rival firms battling harder than ever for market share. There are new threats from online providers, new business models and global competitors. As a result, increasing profit levels is quite a challenge. If you can’t increase your sales volumes, consider how to reduce costs in order to increase profits.

Build a culture of cost saving

Everyone can and should take some level of responsibility for the costs related to their work. One way is to involve more people in the budgeting process. All employees could be partially accountable for the costs that affect them.

Negotiate with your suppliers

Renegotiating contracts with suppliers may bring surprising results. Every service provider will be keen to retain your business. As such, they may be open to renegotiating contracts. If you are in a position to negotiate a volume discount in return for another 6 to 12 months of loyalty, you may be able to benefit from some substantial savings.

Decrease waste

Depending on your business, this could be wasted materials, time, effort, money or team members. Everyone in your business should learn to identify and take steps to reduce or eliminate waste. Decrease waste further by “going green” to reduce utility bills by becoming more energy efficient.

Decrease stock levels

Stock is a dead cost and soaks up cash. Decreasing stock levels may require the streamlining of some of your business systems but it may produce some significant cost savings. If you carry excess stock / inventory you should be able to free up some cash flow in the business by reducing stock levels.

Overtime

Overtime is expensive, but a little preplanning of your work schedules will go a long way to helping reduce overtime costs. If you have more demand than you can handle, it might be cheaper to outsource some of the extra capacity.

Reduce debtor’s days

Cash flow tied up on the debtor’s ledger is effectively costing the business money. Reducing the average time it takes to collect outstanding debts from say, 60 to 30 days, can increase cash flow, reducing the need for expensive overdrafts and bank credit.

Check whether you are making these financial and marketing mistakes that costs you hundreds, or EVEN thousands of Pounds. Click to Download the book below!

Contact us if you need help to increase your business profits:

PJ | ☎ 020 89310165 | ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com

4 tips to help Strategic Thinking for your business!

The business environment has been quite volatile since the financial crash of 2008. Strategic thinking is an area of focus for senior managers to navigate a way forward for their businesses, despite the challenges they face in the current market.

The benefit of strategic thinking is clear – competitive advantage. For most business managers, the first reaction is to deal with what’s directly in front of us (in our inbox). Maybe this is because it always seems more urgent and tangible. Unfortunately, while you concentrate on overcoming obstacles, you could miss opportunities, not to mention missing the signs that indicate the direction you are going is taking you off track.

Here are a few tips to help you to think more strategically about your business.

1. Ask questions

Ask questions that encourage new ways of thinking. One of the first questions to ask is “Why are we a good business?”  For the best answer, ask your customers. Find out why they use your products or services.  If you disappeared tomorrow, what would they miss the most about what you do for them? Another good question to ask could be, “How do I get my competitor’s customers to buy from me instead of them?” These questions will help you to think more strategically about the direction your business should take in the next few years.

2. Think critically

A critical thinker will question everything.  This means getting comfortable with challenging beliefs and approaches, even your own. Many business people will often respond to questions with answers like “we always do it this way”. You should ask, “Is there a better way to do it?” Following conventional wisdom is often considered to be a safe bet. However questioning convention is what creates new, disruptive business models such as Uber and Spotify. If you always take the safe option, your business could lose its competitive advantage.

3. Industry context

When thinking about your business it’s important to understand what strategy means in the context of your industry sector. In the accounting sector for example, it is important to understand contextual issues such as economics, key competitors, legal frameworks, technology and so on. Before developing the strategy for your own business, it’s important to understand what strategies work for your competitors and why. This can help you to create a very different, and hopefully more effective, strategy.

4. Create thinking space

Set aside time alone for strategic thinking/planning at least monthly, if not weekly. Use this time to reflect, research, consider ideas and dream. The focus should not be to “do” things. Getting outside or into a new physical space can make this time more effective. Try to get away from your desk and switch off your smartphone so that you can avoid distractions and think properly.

What to learn from your Business Mistakes?

Some of the world’s most successful business people have one thing in common, they celebrate failure and learn from it. James Dyson famously said, "Enjoy failure and learn from it. You can never learn from success." James Dyson is no stranger to the power of prototypes and learning from mistakes. He made more than 5,100 prototypes of the Dyson Vacuum Cleaner before getting it right.

Albert Einstein said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new”. Wherever we look in the world of business, the most successful and innovative leaders have been the ones who weren’t afraid to fail and if they did, they learned from it.

In most businesses, even if management encourages experimentation, budgeting and risk management processes tend to promote predictability and efficiency. This leads people to do everything possible to avoid mistakes. Attitude to failure differs considerably from one country to the next.

The best and hardest work is often done in a spirit of adventure and challenge. Mistakes are an inevitable consequence of doing something new. As such, there is a tremendous source of value in determining if your people have the right attitude to failure. Here are a few ways to learn from mistakes in your business. 

Study unsuccessful projects

Document the lessons learned about clients, market trends, your firm, your processes, your team and yourself. This is likely to be a painful exercise until it becomes fully embedded in the culture of your business.

Make an impact

The management team should gather frequently to discuss their own failures, and then share the lessons learned with everyone in the wider firm. This builds trust and goodwill, and encourages future experiments across the business. Parameters should be set and communicated across the team - it is not okay to be reckless, but trying something new should be encouraged.

Identify trends

Conduct a firm-wide review to identify patterns. If failure rates are too high, you may need to tighten up systems and controls across the business. However, if they are too low, consider encouraging your people to be more willing to experiment.